Stirred, Not Shaken

Posted on April 6, 2013 by suemariericker

“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:27, 28).

I am highly suspicious that one of the enemy’s favorite tactics is intimidation, and his weapons of choice are not kid gloves—instead, he comes at us with brass knuckles and daggers, battering our souls and attempting to pierce our faith in Jesus and our commitment to the truth of His Word.

I have been trying to come to grips with the many accusations against Christians for the perception of unChrist-like behavior, intolerance, or just plain cruelty.  I have tottered between being defensive because of my beliefs in Jesus and the Bible as the inerrant, infallible Word of God or embarrassed because of the actions of some in the name of God.  I have struggled with the accusations of some Christians against others because one group does not believe the same things as another group.  Sadly, many people are offended because others are put off by their in-your-face, offensive approach to church and religion.

But I am done!  I am finished with being ashamed of Christianity and Christians.  We are family and every one of us is on a journey of grace and righteousness.  Grace, because it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9).  Righteousness, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).  I am definitely not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16, 17).

I will remain in Jesus, unshaken, held in place by His powerful Holy Spirit.  …and I am grateful for receiving God’s kingdom which cannot be shaken!  I am not going to be intimidated by those who choose to assist the enemy in his role as an accuser of the brethren—interesting that he accuses Christians; he sees no need to accuse anyone who does not trust in the redemptive work of Christ!

We are not called to be prosecutors or judges, rather Christians are instructed to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (Heb. 10:24), for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to walk in them (Eph. 2:10).  Scripture also advises us to stir up, to fan into flame, the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are in us.

I have been side-tracked, but no more.  There are battles to fight, but believers are not our enemies, neither are people who are not Christians.  We need to refocus, to understand where the battlefields are (our faith) and who the enemy is—for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places—and learn how to fight the battles with the weapons which have divine power to destroy the enemy’s strongholds.

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Psalm 16

Posted on March 31, 2013 by suemariericker

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.  For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.  You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:9-11).

Father, hold me in your arms; be my refuge and strength, I pray.  Be my Lord and my Savior; I know that I can find no lasting goodness apart from you.  I have tried it—willfulness and rebellion—seeking happiness and love outside of your covering and protection; I have even tried to be “religious”, attempting to establish my own goodness, but nothing good came of it!  Thank you for your forgiveness and cleansing—I choose to stay very close to you now, do not let me be moved!

Thank you for godly friends who support my faith and offer fellowship.  I ask that you continually bring new friends who love you into my life.

You are my inheritance, O Lord.  You are gracious and generous; I have nothing to fear.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit and wisdom, I pray; give me counsel and instruct me in all things.  Lead me in paths of righteousness and teach me to rest in hope.

I will rejoice in you; I will rejoice in your life and resurrection power at work inside me.  Teach me how to live in the fullness of your Spirit; lead me in the paths of life.  Remind me that my deepest desire is always to be aware of your presence.

To be honest, Lord, I fill my life with entertainment and activities, food and drink, but I know that those things do not satisfy.  I have had such a warped religious understanding of you—it was hard to fathom pleasure in your presence.  Please give me a right understanding of who You are and your astonishing love; teach me what this means:  in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forever more—lead me there, O God!  In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Living Prophetically

Posted on March 29, 2013 by suemariericker

Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. …but he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men (1 Cor. 14:1, 3).

A comment made on one of my posts started me to thinking about something I believe—that God intends for His people to live prophetically.  To be honest, I do wrestle with some issues concerning prophets and the spiritual gift of prophecy because I have experienced some serious misuses of the gift.  However, the apostle Paul encourages the church to desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.

I think we need to start with a basic understanding that God speaks to His people.  Many Christians believe that the Bible is the revelation of truth and “the inspired, inerrant and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God” (borrowed from my church’s Statement of Faith—New Covenant Church, Hampton, VA).  I believe that.  Some Christians do not; they can consent to believing that the Bible is the authoritative revelation of God, but not that it is inerrant (which I think opens up a door to either believing or rejecting portions of scripture that seem difficult to understand or uncomfortable to accept).  Some Christians believe now that we have the Bible, God is done with revelation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit—I do not believe that!

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:7, 8).  We can only hear His voice is if He is speaking—and the Holy Spirit is speaking today!  Also, it helps to be listening…

The challenge is to quiet the noise on the heavenly frequency—the world, our flesh, and the enemy have persistent, demanding voices; fine-tuning our spirits to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit is no small task!  Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge (Psalm 46:10, 11).  If you recall the story of Elijah in his confrontation with God, he experienced an intense wind, an earthquake, and a fire—but God was not in the exhibitions of power; rather, he spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice.   Noise and distractions surround us and compete for our attention; modern conveniences hold us captive to news, to games, to social media sites, to entertainment—leaving little or no time to intentionally quiet ourselves and wait on our Savior.

Living in the presence of our communicative God has been an interesting journey for me.  I was brought up in a religious tradition that boasted their very own prophet.  She lived and wrote during the 19th through the early part of the 20th century and, although it was soundly denied that her writings took precedence over the Bible, the reality was somewhat different—I remember thinking I had to verify the baptism of the Holy Spirit through her writings before I could accept it from the Bible!  Looking back, I can see that letter trumped Spirit, legalism trumped freedom in Jesus.  I really do not want to write about that experience here but there are two very subtle beliefs which came from that church:  First, the gift of prophecy came to one person, who spoke for all—she was God’s messenger, she (supposedly) heard from God for the church.  Second, the powerful working of the Holy Spirit is stymied where people do not believe that God speaks prophetically to individuals, so no fresh revelation of God’s love or activity in the world is available to your average, 9 to 5 blue-collar worker, housewife, or anyone not included in a designated ministry.  I think it is interesting that many Christian churches decry emotionalism unless it is fear or anxiety.  Joy, rejoicing in the Lord, dancing before His presence is totally unacceptable behavior (I am just glad that king David did not get that memo!).

I have written several prayer journals—reading through the Bible one chapter at a time.  There have been moments during my prayer, meditation, and writing times with these journals when God spoke to my heart and told me that what I wrote was prophetic—intended to edify, exhort, or comfort those who may read them.  Honestly, I have written them primarily for my children, as a gift and a spiritual heritage to bless them—even though I have sold a few copies and given many away.  I know that much of the prophetic ministry of the Holy Spirit has come to me through stilling my heart and meditating on scripture.  The Holy Spirit has also been a bit of a tattletale when it comes to my kids—he has revealed things going on in their lives before they told me.  I believe I am called to intercede for these God-given gifts called my kids and the information communicated through the Spirit has helped me to know the words to speak and ways to relate to them.  Living prophetically within our families is one way that God uses to strengthen and build His church.

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.  And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28, 29).  The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit is all-inclusive—no one left out; no one is exempt.  Every one of us is included, for the promise (the gift of the Holy Spirit) is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off (Acts 2:39).  The awesomeness of the promise is in the fact that there is no spiritual hierarchy in God’s kingdom—each person, each child of God is gifted with a unique destiny and purpose to serve the Master.  That is what it boils down to, really.  We receive gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we can tuck a towel into our belt and kneel before our families, our communities, and God’s church to wash their feet, to be a servant and follow in the footsteps of our Savior.

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Samson–Man of Grace!

Posted on March 28, 2013 by suemariericker

Every time I have read about the life of Samson recorded in the book of Judges, I looked with criticism at the way he lived and the choices he made—focusing on his weaknesses rather than seeing him as a man of faith, which the book of Hebrews proclaims him to be.  (And truly, it is much easier to recognize the weaknesses of someone else rather than my own!)  Recently God has given me a view from a different angle—it came from a phrase I read in Judges 14:4, His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord….

WHAT!!!???!!!  Samson went down to a Philistine city—a place he should not go!—and met a woman he should not desire.  Get her for me for she is right in my eyes (14:3) seemed to be his spoiled, “I want what I want when I want it” attitude.

I think Samson needed to have his eyes checked, for God instructed the Israelites, Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst (Exodus 34:12).  So the whole premise of Samson consummating the covenant of marriage with this Philistine woman contradicted God’s command that His people not make covenants with the people of the land—it certainly turned out to be a snare for him!  How could this alliance possibly be from the Lord?

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19).  God does not contradict himself, so how could it be His intention for Samson to marry this woman?

I believe that there is a message of grace in this story—God knew Samson intimately, and in His sovereignty, was able to work through Samson’s weaknesses.  God working through Samson’s broken vows and wandering eyes still was able to bring about victories over the enemy.  Ideal?  No.  But our Father knows the stuff we are made of and His grace is sufficient to accomplish His purposes through frail human beings.

Samson was a judge in Israel for twenty years but we have a record of only a few incidents in this man’s life.  There are several places where the scripture tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him” and he was able to perform strong, powerful acts, acts that seemed to supersede the extra physical strength represented by his long hair.  Fresh bowstrings, new ropes, and a weaver’s loom could not bind Samson, but the weakness of his flesh and his desires held him captive and brought about his destruction.

In spite of his physical strength, he was spiritually weak.  He lost sight of his calling and the vision of his life purpose; he lacked discernment and the ability to withstand the enticements of the enemy.  However, he was a man of faith and he cried out to God in his deepest point of despair—although his motives seem questionable, God answered him and gave Samson one last victory.

How can the story of this broken man bring hope to our lives?  It really has everything to do with the resurrection of Jesus.  If we can, for a moment, recognize ourselves, our lives, our weaknesses, our questionable motives in the life of Samson, then we are in a perfect place to receive the gift of redemption through the Savior.  Our selfish desires, our willful attitudes, our sinful nature hold us captive, and until we release them to God, we will lose vision and experience defeat.

In the Old Testament there are many recorded instances where the Spirit of the Lord came upon people and they accomplished great things.  In the New Testament, under the New Covenant of grace, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of people and lives are powerfully changed.  He starts by giving us life:  If the Spirit of him who raise Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

He gives us inner strength, teaches us about the remarkable love of Christ, and fills us with the fullness of God:  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 4:14-19).

Experiencing all the fullness of God starts with faith, and knowing the love of Christ.  The love of Christ starts with Calvary and the cruel death he suffered—the powerful indwelling of the Holy Spirit starts with the resurrection of our Savior, and faith begins with His Spirit.   We are being changed, gloriously, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit—and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).

The beauty of grace is that He loves us.  He restores our sight; he gives each one of us a purpose and destiny.  He loves our faith; He hears our prayers, and He changes our lives.  He understands our weaknesses, and He loves our willing hearts.  He gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness so that we may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified (Isaiah 61:3).

Hallelujah!

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Doing Without

Posted on March 22, 2013 by suemariericker

Do all things…

Yesterday, as sleep started to drift away and consciousness stepped in to take its place, I became aware of the gentle dripping of water—as I listened it became a steady, persistent stream and I immediately recognized the sound of a toilet overflowing in the upstairs apartment.  I jumped out of bed, grabbed my phone and ran to the kitchen to find the number for the office of our apartment complex.

When I finally connected to a maintenance person, he recommended that I put a bucket under the drip to catch the water and prevent damage to the apartment below me. –it took four buckets and I don’t think I had them under all of the drips, just the main waterfalls.  It was necessary to empty them four or five times and every time I went into the hallway and bathroom where the water poured down, I was anointed with the dirty, dripping toilet water.

SOOOOOO annoyed!  Why in the world couldn’t they get someone over here sooner?  Why did this start after the neighbors left for work?  Why do I have to deal with this icky water?  I do not want to run back and forth in there and I do not want the access to my bedroom to have a filthy carpet and falling ceiling.

…without complaining.

My complaints are justified, Lord!  This is the second time this has happened since we’ve lived here.  The people upstairs should know better (even though they are different tenants than the last time)!  The maintenance people should have been quicker to respond.  I should not have to risk having raw sewage dripping down on me!  Telling me to handle this without complaining is asking an awful lot from this mere mortal!

Judge not….

I cannot believe that the maintenance man was still in bed at 6:30 in the morning.  He said that the maintenance people don’t start work until 8am—why do they not have people on call, people available for the emergencies that do not happen between business hours?  I am not being judgmental; I’m just making an observation here.  I’m not condemning anyone for not being available for my convenience; I am just stating the fact that this business could be run more effectively for their clients, the renters.  I am the victim here; I am in the “right”.

…and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not and you shall not be condemned.

I know that I am not perfect, but just off-hand I cannot think of any faults that I have.  Well, perhaps I am not very patient.  …and I guess taking offense at the imperfections of others is not one of my most stellar qualities.  I suppose my lifestyle doesn’t fit the needs and convenience of everyone else…

Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

The issue here is not forgiveness, it is the fact nasty water is streaming out of my ceiling, and someone needs to be here NOW to take care of it.  To be noted, this situation is not being handled as well as it could be and I am just pointing out that fact.

However… I am pretty sure that my default attitudes are critical, condemning —and I can give good reasons for being that way!  Interesting, that the Creator, the perfect Savior, doesn’t condemn, He came to save (John 3:17).  …and if Jesus doesn’t condemn, then I’m pretty sure that I have not been given the authority to do so.  I wonder if the absence of forgiveness is condemnation?

I looked up the word “condemn”, and I felt convicted (not condemned because there is no condemnation in Jesus).   To pass adverse judgment on, disapprove of strongly, to declare to be guilty of wrongdoing…  How often are these the underlying attitudes when I do not like the actions of others, or when I think that they are not responding to my needs or requests in the way or the timing I think best?  How often am I quick to condemn while living in my little world of “no condemnation”?

The answer here is not to try to be better or to do better; rather, the answer is found in 1 John 1:9 –If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Sin is found not only in our actions, but also in our attitudes—unforgiveness is sin, complaining is sin, unbelief, not believing that God can make all things—even dripping toilet water—work out for good, is sin.  But when I confess, He forgives; and He cleanses me of those unrighteous, toilet-water attitudes.  That is good news!

So my prayer is that God will teach me how to do without—without complaining, without criticism, without a judgmental spirit, without condemnation, and without unforgiveness.  I confess that they have long been a part of my life, but I am ready to be cleansed—in Jesus’ name!

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An Open Letter To My Kids

Posted on March 18, 2013 by suemariericker

Howdy do, precious ones….

I thought I’d send y’all (or is that all y’all?) a little message just to share a couple of things the Lord spoke to me this past weekend in New York.  To be perfectly honest, I can’t say that I ever was interested in traveling to that city, it being a “city” and all; but I figured if I was to go, these were the best circumstances for a trip–to be part of a ministry team.  We stayed at what was formerly a hospital (now a very old building!) that has been transformed into the New York School of Urban Ministry (NYSUM).  …just so happens, our pastor’s father started the organization back in the ’80s with his twin brother.  I was really excited to be a part of this ministry to the city and it got me to thinking about ministry and whether there was something to the fact doing some things excite me and some things don’t.  I wonder if the things that don’t excite us have to do with the fact they come across as “gotta do’s” instead of “get to do’s”?  Perhaps some ministry opportunities don’t excite me because they are not things I am called to do.

A common word in Christian circles has to do with God “stretching” us.  The funny thing is that the implication has always been negative to me–God is stretching you and it is going to be difficult, you’re not going to like it, and He is going to make you do things you do not want to do.  What if it is not that at all?  In stead of negative, what if God’s stretching (is that really a Biblical term?) is a positive? … growing into the grace and wisdom of God. …growing into our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and hearing God’s voice for every situation we encounter.  …an enabling and equipping to bring the life of Jesus into every area of our lives and relationships.

God spoke something else of significance to my heart this past weekend.  Our pastor grew up in New York and (shudder) is a New York driver–contributing to the growth of our prayer lives…  He also served as our tour guide and he pointed out to us the gates over the doors of small businesses–they are rolled down at night for protection and up in the morning when they open for business.  There was a powerful word for me in that sometimes the gates are down in my life–I’m in protection mode and closed for business.  Whatever the Holy Spirit may want to say to me or through me is blocked because I just am not open.  My desire is always to be open for God to speak to me and use me for His glory–I do not want indifference, distractions, sin, or busyness to so consume me that I cannot hear His voice.
So this is my prayer, for me and for each of you–
O Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit–fill our hearts, fill our minds, fill every area of our lives with you.  Give us more “get to do” opportunities to share your goodness and grace.  Open our eyes to see that you are at work all around us; there are many opportunities to bless others and share life–increase our sensitivity to your voice.  Equip us with wisdom and mercy, I pray.  Keep the doors of our hearts open; do not let us shut down or shut out your Holy Spirit or the people who surround us.  Give us your eyesight to see others the way you see them, and give us hearts to intercede for encounters of your grace in their lives, I pray.  In Jesus’ name, amen.
Love,
mom
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Tear Down That Wall!

Posted on March 12, 2013 by suemariericker

I have been thinking about walls for a while now; this past weekend brought those thoughts to the surface.

Walls are multi-purpose things—they keep people out, they keep people in, they are defensive in nature, they provide protection, they define boundaries, and they define limits.  As we drove up to New York this past weekend, I observed the walls along the freeways, constructed to keep the freeway noise from invading residential districts.  I have always wondered how effective they are—do they really keep noise out or do they just soften and muffle it?

There are visible walls everywhere, and just like the ones we can see, invisible walls have invaded our lives.   Sadly, just as the walls lining the freeway muffle sound, so many of the walls erected in our hearts prevent us from hearing or understanding what others are saying to us, both with words and actions.  I have found that when we surrender our lives to Jesus and the Holy Spirit is at work in our hearts, he brings down the walls of division, the areas or judgment, the attitudes of self-righteousness and superiority.

Paul talks about a wall in the book of Ephesians—in that instance he was referring to the division between Jews and Gentiles, law and grace people.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (Eph. 2:13-16).

I understand the value of the many expressions of the body of Christ with our unique calling and ministries—however, too often we create divisions by our laws and commandments, our doctrines that create hostility …so that separations occur rather than being united by the blood of Jesus.  Too often we see our doctrines on baptism, Sabbath, on pre-trib, mid-trib, or post trib interpretations, tithing, on the gifts of the Holy Spirit as more crucial than the redeeming, uniting, precious blood of the Lamb!  What are we afraid will happen if we let go of the things that divide us and focus on Jesus?  What would happen if we left the doctrine to the Spirit of truth, who is tasked to guide us into all the truth (John 16:13)?  What would happen if we actually did what the Bible instructs us to do, to live by faith?  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16, 17).

There are other walls of division, walls of racial prejudice, walls of stereotypes, walls of socio-economic pre-judgment, and age discrimination….  God spoke to me a bit about that this past weekend.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:28, 29).

God put together a very diverse team of people to go to the city—what a blessing!  Being a grandma and the oldest person in the group was an interesting position for me.  That is ok!  I recognize that young people and those who are older are a great compliment for each other—the youth offer energy and vitality, those of us who have been around for a few more years bring faith through experience and Bible knowledge to the table (though many young people know their Bibles well!).

We served breakfast to street people, low-income, elderly, and parents with small children—all who struggle to put a meal on their tables.  We gave blankets and water to many who did not speak English.  We talked to and prayed with well-educated people who no longer have jobs and hope had slipped away.  God spoke to my heart and reminded me not to look on outward appearances or at the things that held them in bondage; rather, these people were either already my brothers or sisters in Christ, or potential family members.  The most exciting, outrageous realization was that the kingdom of God could be spread very powerfully through these weak and broken people, because when we are weak, He shows Himself to be strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

My confession is that there are walls in me, built over time—I do not like it!  The only wall I want to exist in my life is the one between my spirit and my sinful nature, to muffle the voices of my flesh so that I can hear God’s Holy Spirit speaking clearly to me—I give him permission to tear down all of the other walls!

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Too Busy to Fight!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by suemariericker

I think I prefer to write observations backed by scripture, but today I want to share observations made through experience….

Here’s the facts:  I just do not want to fight anymore; I do not want to argue, I do not want to be defensive about my faith – I am willing to defend my faith and I will use scripture with anyone willing to listen, but my faith and the life I’ve experienced with my Lord and Savior speak for themselves.  I do not need to defend what I know God has done in my life.

I do not need to defend the church, either, from those who are quick to condemn us (the church is one body, united in Jesus, with many expressions).  We are all in different and unique places in our relationships with God and His Son.  We are all hypocrites, and as soon as we come to grips with that, perhaps we can move on and quit condemning one another.   Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23); and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).  Let us get this settled:  God sent the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth (John 16:13), and it is the Spirit who convicts of sin (John 16:8) – those are not our jobs; our responsibility is to trust that God is big enough to do what he says He will.  Perhaps, when we quit trying to do what God said He would do, then we can get on with what He told us to do, which is actively being salt and light in the world.

So these comments come after my weekend in New York City—I am blessed, and it was my privilege to be a part of a team ministering to homeless people.  That included working in a soup kitchen, as well as going out at night in teams to hand out blankets, bottles of water, food, clothing, and toiletries to homeless people.  Along with physical blessings, we got to share hope, prayer, and the message of Jesus to anyone who was willing to listen—and many were!  I saw many Christians show up to give to those in need, it was such a blessing!  …and I got to thinking about all of the criticisms and condemnations of Christians, Christianity, and the church by non-Christians and Christians alike.  In the past I have tried to defend the Bible, the church, and Christianity—I know there are those who call themselves Christians and give Christianity a bad name—but today I choose to release myself from all legal obligation to defend.  …there is just too much work to do!

Too many people need to someone to listen to them.  Too many people need a drink of water.  Way too many people need hope!  I do not want to underestimate the gift of “unto the least of these, my brethren” (Matt 25:40) moments—I want to live with my eyes wide open to the many opportunities that surround me. There are little things to do and there are big things to do.  Each person within the body of Christ has gifts and a destiny to serve Jesus and bless others.  The job of the Holy Spirit is much too big for me, so I think I will let him do his job and I will ask God to let me know what my job is.

I was really excited about the opportunity to go to New York to be a part of this ministry.  It was not an easy one, it definitely stretched my comfort limits—but not in a negative or hurtful way, not in a way that I would feel exposed and hurt.  I could do this; I could be out there because this was something I wanted to do.  I wonder if there is a principle there.  In times past, I thought the great commission, the going out and spreading the good news about Jesus, and the hope He brings, was a difficult thing—kind of a “gotta do” rather than a “get to do” sort of thing.  What will happen if we replace the sense of obligation with a sense of adventure?

Father, I love adventures!  I believe you have the best kind—not easy but definitely exciting!  Let’s see, you go before us and make the crooked places straight (Is. 45:2); you will also be my rear guard (Is. 52:12), and speak to me when I turn to the right or to the left (Is. 30:21)—there is no reason to fear (2 Tim. 1:7)!  I know that not every opportunity excites me, but that is ok, you have not gifted me or called me to do everything.  You know me; excite my heart with the opportunities that are my best fit and the purposes you have for my life.  You have not called me to be a lawyer; you have released me from defending your honor or your people—do not let me get caught up in useless arguments, I pray–in Jesus’ name.

Perhaps I just cannot resist scripture.  This was just going to be about some recent thoughts and experiences; however in the telling, verses kept coming to mind.  It is that faithful Holy Spirit just doing His job…   I love how He does that!

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Looking Back

Posted on March 7, 2013 by suemariericker

In the midst of looking forward to this weekend—a trip to New York and the opportunity to minister to homeless people—I couldn’t help but take a look back over my life; part of that is because the members on our team were encouraged to be prepared to give a testimony of God’s work of grace (salvation) in our lives.

To look back at that time, the time when my life was radically changed, I saw streets of a city on the opposite side of the country—San Francisco.  It was an interesting, albeit difficult, path that took me to Haight-Ashbury at time in our country’s history marked by peace and rebellion, love and hate, drugs and vegetables.  Ok, that last one was a little more from my perspective working in a vegetarian restaurant located a block away from Golden Gate Park.

I grew up in conflict and abuse.  Of course, it is difficult to acknowledge the beatings and insane manipulation as abusive since a magical child’s mind tends to claim full responsibility for the difficulties at home.  My little girl’s mind would assume blame for my mother’s death at age four.  I thought my role as youngest child and princess would be resumed when my dad married my stepmother, but I can guarantee that did not happen—the blocked memories from the two years between when my mother died and dad remarried should have been a clue about what was to come.

That is plenty of background to explain why, at age thirteen, almost fourteen, I was more than happy to be sent away to boarding schools.  Of course, a happy home would have been my first choice, but this looked like a fairy tale with no happily ever after.  I was a tremendously insecure teenager, though I know now that is a characteristic of those years for most young people—I just didn’t have anywhere to take the hurt—except to God, in a religious sort of way, trying to be the good kid for Him that I couldn’t be for my parents.  …and I just happened to be in a “religious” boarding school.  I tried to be good, for the most part, to keep an angry, vindictive, abusive God at bay.  I was pretty rebellious my sophomore year, but that didn’t suit me so I went back to trying to be good.

After graduation, the thought of moving back home was unbearable so I pleaded with my parents to allow me to go to a college, run by the particular denomination I was a part of, in California.  …possibly the thought of me at home was as difficult for them as for me!  So they sent me to school near the beautiful Napa Valley.  I had no direction for my life, no goals—what I wanted to do (be a writer) was discouraged because I was no more than mediocre, and to be successful, one had to be extraordinary (that is what I was told).

I remember going to one of my religion professors and asking him what was the point of the cross—I don’t remember the answer I was given, though I became very driven to be involved in ministries.  There were several, but the main one was the Vege-Hut, a vegetarian restaurant down on Haight Street in San Francisco.  There are tales of fun and fear held in my memories from those days! –it was the late ‘60s and early 70s, drugs and demons, hopeless and hopeful, homeless and communes filled the area and the times.

My religion did me no good against the powers of darkness at work all around me.  Proof texts elicited a form of godliness but no power and no salvation.  The foundations of my religion were torn down, and it dawned on me that I could never be good enough to be saved—just believing, faith alone felt like stepping out on clouds with nothing but air beneath me.  My life became an effort of hopelessness and one night I was determined to step off, with nothing beneath me; I walked out of the restaurant, heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge and this time I was going to be successful!

Except God…  God had other plans for me that night.  Someone stopped me and asked me to come with them to one of the Christian communes in the area—they were going to be praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I figured that I had tried everything else, why not that?   …and my life was radically changed.  The Holy Spirit brought a peace to my soul I had never known before.  That night he began revealing Jesus to me.  It is over forty years later and he is still revealing Jesus to me.

My life has taken some deep dives since that day—I was in an emotionally abusive relationship where I again became deeply suicidal, to the point I figured my children would be better off without me.  But God’s grace delivered me.  I have made foolish choices, looked for love in all the wrong places, but His mercies are new every morning.

So I am looking forward to this weekend—the people of the street are very special to me.  I slept in the communes and on the restaurant floor.  I hitchhiked around California at a time when the Zodiac killer was destroying lives (attacked two people at the college I attended, one died).  I have been in food lines so that I could feed my kids.  One time I had nothing to fix for dinner and I came home to find a casserole on my front porch.  I was essentially put out of my home at a point when I just could not be good enough, skinny enough or measure up.  I saw God open a door with my parents (who would have thought that could happen with our history!) where they provided a home for my kids and me (100 miles away from where they lived, I’m pretty sure any closer would not have worked).

The testimony of my life?  God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!  Lamentations 3:22, 23

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Grace Spots

Posted on March 4, 2013 by suemariericker

I am pretty sure that I have given every excuse for or defense of sin possible.  “It is my right”, “you just don’t understand”, “God understands me” (which is true…), “the devil made me do it”, “I can’t help myself”, “I was born that way”, “I’m just too weak” (which is also true…) –there are so many more reasons or excuses we give to hold on to our pet “weaknesses” (because sin is such an ugly word!).

What if we changed our perspective of sin and see that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20)?  Perhaps our weaknesses are grace spots where, in our weaknesses we can see the strength and redemption of our Savior at work—“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We are so backward thinking when we want to hide our weaknesses and vulnerabilities!  How can we glorify Christ when we are trying to appear strong and “together”?  Could we possibly be missing miracles that God wants to perform for blessing us, freeing us, and making us vessels of honor for His kingdom?

We are all sinners, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

The perspective that “I can’t help it, I was born that way” doesn’t really cut it from the reality that we were all born that way, with a sinful nature.  When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, sin became an integral part of our DNA—only one was born without sin because His Father is in heaven, not from the earth; He is not only qualified to be our Redeemer, He chose to take the punishment for our sins.

…and He promises to cleanse us from unrighteousness:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  So if we hold on to attitudes, activities, life-styles, habits—anything that falls short of the glory of God—we are cheating ourselves by not allowing Him to cleanse our unrighteousness.

Let me share with you a big light bulb God turned on in my heart just recently.  I have a habit of waking up in the morning making a soul-check to see how I feel about the previous day, evaluating my activities (or in-activities such as time spent in front of the TV or on the computer) and however good or bad I determine them to be will set the tone for my day—did I do ok or should I try harder to do better?

Whoa!  Who is the savior here?  I recognize my weaknesses, but I definitely do not like to admit them, even to God—I just try to do better next time. …and sad to think that some days I am deluded into thinking I acheived some sort of righteousness!

So this is what He has been speaking to my heart—“There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, and you are in Christ Jesus”, “I knit you together in your mother’s womb, I have always known you, I have always loved you—and nothing can separate you from my love!  My mercies are new every morning, so wake up in my love and my mercy!  Yesterday is just that, yesterday’s news—this is the day I have made, rejoice and be glad in it; old things have passed away, everything has become new!  It is time to take the focus off of yourself and put them on my Son your Savior, because that is what I have done—I do not look at your righteousness, for you have none, I see the righteousness of Jesus because that is His gift to you.

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